who ever thought we could get pouring rain like today in june in johannesburg! it's supposed to be raining in cape town! but, i don't think we can complain... my garden certainly needs the water.

driving when it's raining i always notice  the pavement people - they've got this "please don't splash me rainwater while driving like a lunatic to get to your next destination" - look in their eyes. then i see the rats from the ratrace who don't care about anything other than their own ratmobile and it's power,  gunning it to get past the taxi/old lady/stupid idiot driving slowly in the rain in front of them. inevitably the poor pavement person gets splashed. the rat doesn't give it one more thought, he's fine in his airconditioned ratmobile. dry and mighty! and how long will it take before the pavement person can be dry and warm again?

What will it take for the rats to slow down a bit, haven't they ever noticed their little rat wheel just keeps turning and turning?  racing in circles? why not slow down a bit, not splash the pavement people and get to their  destination in one piece? All it takes is a little bit of planning - to leave early enough to compromise for bad traffic, red lights and rain, and a little consideration for those around them like the pavement people! maybe then they'll also notice the fun stuff outside the ratrace!!!

didn't we all think we had enough of studying when we made matric or finished our tertiary qualification? then you start working and you see you actually have to keep on studying to keep yourself in line for all the possible promotions (and possible increases in salary) you could get. today you really have to keep up with these technologically advanced youngsters. this is one of the reasons why i decided to study again.

this brings me to the other advantages of studying. you keep up with the world outside your home and job. you better yourself constantly. you challenge yourself to get out of your "eat - work - sleep", no challenge, nothing to look forward to, sit here and rot comfort zone that irritates everybody around you because you just exist.

now you ask me why you should do this to yourself? it's not easy and you will have to work hard. if you really feel stuck and depressed and you don't look forward to another day at work, try studying. you don't have to go and register for a degree or something big (unless you really want to fulfill that old almost forgotten dream of yours), you can start with something simple like garden design, photography, a new language or scrapbooking. go make a list of all the things you still want to know/find out about. then investigate which institution will be best for your needs. the only thing left to do is to go and register.

cost? when you start thinking about the pros and cons, money is not a problem, you can cut down somewhere else and use that money for your studies. smoke/jol/drink/party a bit less and use the time and money for your studies.

just get out there and start! you'll see it's worth it. in the process you make new friends, you open up a whole new world to yourself. and if you don't do it for work reasons, you get the satisfaction of doing something great for yourself. go for it!

i dare you!

bye for now

imagine good manners was for sale! wouldn't this world be a great place to live in!!! let's all start living the way we would want to be treated! behaviour breeds behaviour...

so why did i decide to start a blog? the main reason is that a few nasty bad manners can be avoided with very little effort. just think through your day today.... how many people greeted you? how many made eye contact when they spoke to you? how many actually wanted to hear your answer when they asked how you are? did they really want to know or was the question asked just to say something?

to solve: just look the other person in the eyes when you're talking to them, i know in the beginning you'll probably feel freaky. it's not that bad, and it actually makes the other person feel you really care about what they have to say. don't stare him/her to death, just make good eye contact.

when you ask a question, really mean it and really listen to the answer. it shows you care about more than just your self, i know you are important to you, that's fine. but that other person also wants to feel important. make him/her feel important.

greet people properly when you start a conversation, wether you want to enquire about something or just want to make a comment. it's just basic good manners. and say thank you and goodbuy goodbye (thanks Guy McLaren) when you're done with the conversation.

see: i told you it's easy to be decent, try these 3 things from now on and see the difference it makes in your world!

bye for now